June 15, 2015

A decade of work at Johns Hopkins has yielded a computer program that predicts, with far more accuracy than current methods, which mutations are likely to have the largest effect on the activity of the “dimmer switches” (which alter the cell’s gene activity) in DNA — suggesting new targets for diagnosis and treatment of many diseases.

June 15, 2015

Researchers in Canada and the U.K. have sequenced and assembled de novo (from the ground up) the full genome of a living organism, the bacteria Escherichia Coli, using Oxford Nanopore’s MinION device, a genome sequencer that can fit in the palm of your hand.

The findings, published today in the journal Nature Methods, provide proof of concept for the new genome sequencer technology.

Growing a miniature brain from cell scrapings could help diagnose brain disorders in the future, Gattaca-style

June 12, 2015

Sergiu Pasca, M.D., of Stanford University and colleagues have developed “human cortical spheroids” — miniature cultured 3-D structures that grow and function much like the cortex of the brain of the person from whom they were derived.

These “organoids” (3-D complexes of cells that function like an organ) buzz with neuronal network activity. Cells talk with each other in circuits, much as they do in our brains.… read more

The researchers describe their printing method in an open-access article in the latest issue of Nature Publishing Group’s Scientific Reports and illustrate their technique by reproducing the Missouri S&T athletic logo on a nanometer-scale surface.… read more

June 11, 2015

University of Cincinnati and university and industry partners have developed a technology for tunable window tinting that dynamically adapts for brightness, color temperatures (such as blueish or yellowish light), and opacity (to provide for privacy while allowing 90 percent or more of the light in), adjustable by the user.

According to the researchers, these “smart windows” are would be simple to manufacture, making them affordable for business… read more

Promises to lead to better understanding of the immune system, develop new therapies, improve testing of new classes of drugs and toxic chemicals

June 11, 2015

Cornell University engineers have created a functional, synthetic immune organoid (a lab-grown ball of cells with some of the features of a normal organ) that produces antibodies. The engineered organ has implications for everything from rapid production of immune therapies to new frontiers in cancer or infectious disease research.

The first-of-its-kind immune organoid was created in the lab of Ankur Singh, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, who applies… read more

June 10, 2015

A team of IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland with support from colleagues in Yorktown Heights, New York has developed a relatively simple, robust and versatile process for growing crystals made from compound semiconductor materials. The new method will allow the materials to be integrated onto silicon wafers — an important step toward making future computer chips that will allow integrated circuits to continue shrinking in size and cost,… read more

June 10, 2015

Researchers from Lehigh University, Japan, and Canada have advanced a step closer to the dream of all-optical data transmission by building and demonstrating what they call the “world’s first fully functioning single-crystal waveguide in glass.”

In an open-access article published in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication, the group said it had employed ultrafast femtosecond lasers to produce a three-dimensional single crystal capable of guiding light waves through… read more

Invented by Harvard and Chinese scientists, the new method could treat neurodegenerative disorders and paralysis

June 10, 2015

In a world first, U.S. and Chinese scientists have developed a method to inject microelectronic devices such as wires and transistors directly into the brain (or other body parts) to measure or stimulate neural activity. The new method could lead to sophisticated new ways to treat conditions ranging from neurodegenerative disorders to paralysis.

June 9, 2015

In a clinical study, Spanish researchers have used a Microsoft Kinect to help stroke patients increase their ability to use a paralyzed arm.

Stroke patients with “hemiparesis” —- reduced muscle strength on one side of the body — often under-use their affected limbs even though they still have some motor function. A long period of non-use of the affected “paretic” limb can lead to further loss of… read more

June 8, 2015

New technology called called VirScan developed by Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) researchers makes it possible to test for current and past infections with any known human virus by analyzing a single drop of a person’s blood.

With VirScan, scientists can run a single test to determine which viruses have infected an individual, rather than limiting their analysis to particular viruses. That unbiased approach could uncover unexpected… read more

June 8, 2015

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered an new process for assembling DNA nanostructures in a water-free solvent, which may allow for fabricating more complex nanoscale structures — especially, nanoelectronic chips based on DNA.

Scientists have been using DNA to construct sophisticated new structures from nanoparticles (such as a recent development at Brookhaven National Labs reported by KurzweilAI May 26), but the use… read more

June 8, 2015

Team IHMC Robotics of Pensacola, Fla., with its Running Man (Atlas) robot came in at second place ($1 million prize), followed by Tartan Rescue of Pittsburgh with its CHIMP robot ($500,000 prize).… read more